Brink of Insanity
by Changeling In Disguise
Summary: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse is hard, surviving the Zombie Apocalypse with Schizophrenia, good luck. Joyce McCullough is a Schizophrenic who tries to survive on a day to day basis in the zombie infested world. Will she manage to survive or will the hallucinations get to her first? (Accepting OC's! See chapter 2 for details.)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody and welcome to my first ever Walking Dead fanfic, _Brink of Insanity_. I have tons of ideas for this and I hope you like them. I've also decided that readers will also be making decisions along the way every so chapters as well. Secondly, I'm most excited to show you that not only will the charaters have to endure Walkers, Bandits and other survivors and Joyce suffering from her Schizophrenia. Here are some examples; a psychotic game show, a delusional bounty hunter, a blood murdering family, and so much more! But for now, without further ado, here's the first chapter to the story...**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The sun hung high in the sky, beating down on the world below. Animals roamed the once busy streets of Lyons, Georgia as the combination of trash and rotting corpses littered the streets. The whole town looked like it was torn apart by rioters with burnt down buildings, mostly destroyed buildings.

The remaining standing structures were graffitied on with 'S.O.S', 'God has abandoned us' and other random stuff on them. I did my best not to look at the corpses mostly because I just sick of seeing what the world has turned into.

I kept my attentionon anything that wasn't destroyed or dease ridden while I hummed a tune to keep myself calm. I was doing alright before I catch something out of the corner of my eye. I turn to see a corpse laying on its stomach. Judging by the amount of chewed intestines and other uneaten organs, this corpse was torn into. But that's not what caught my attention, it was what I assumed to be a medical kit underneath it.

 _That could come in handy_ , I thought to myself before cautiously tiptoeing towards the corpse. It wasn't like you find something useful nowadays, so I gotta take this chance.

I gently kick the corpse to make sure it is totally dead before trying to flip him over. I grabbed a pair of heavy duty gloves out of my survival pack so I don't catch any diseases that the corpse could be carrying. It wasn't easy to do so since the corpse was somewhat imprinted to the cement, making the corpse's dead skin peel off its face and other exposed parts.

As soon as I finally flipped the corpse upright, the hole that the Walkers torn into now had maggots crawling within it as a very powerful oder reached my nostrils, smelling like four month old spoiled meat drenched in sewage water. I gagged and coughed at the scent before covering my mouth and nose with a handkerchief, making sure I don't have to smell the stench and prevent me from puking as well.

I first grabbed the corpse's hands and tried to retract them from the med kit, which became a mistake. As soon as I reached a certain point of bending the hands, I heard bones crack as bone fragments poked out of its skin. It was too much for me as I vomited near the corpse before getting up and walked a bit away from it. I tried to calm my breathing by taking deep breaths, while I tried not to think about what I just witnessed.

I mustered enough courage to go back to the corpse and try to pry the med kit away. More bones cracked as I pulled its arms away, forcing myself not to puke again. As I nearly had the corpse's grip pulled away from the med kit, I suddenly heard a ghastly moan come from behind me. I whipped around to see five Walkers dragging their feet against the pavement towards me.

I fumbled for my survival pack before pulling out a Glock 35 and shakingly pointing at the group of Walkers. I couldn't get a clear shot of the Walkers' heads because of all my shaking, so I just unloaded my last five bullets and hoped for the best.

But to my surprise, the bullets harmlessly passed through the Walkers. _Oh no, not again_, I thought before I suddenly heard whispers coming from almost nowhere.

"...Let us save you..."

"...Let us take all the pain away..."

"...We can be your saviors..."

I took a few steps back in fear before I felt something grab onto my ankle. I look down to see the corpse grasping onto my ankle tightly.

"...Let us protect you..." the corpse rasped out before I fell to the ground and began scooting away from them.

I scooted into a wall but I wasn't paying much attention as I was panicking about the scene in front of me. The Walkers continue to make their way to me as their whispers turned into screams.

I put my hands over my ears and closed my eyes before counting down from ten.

 _10...9...8_

The screams echoed all around inside my head as I began to rock myself back and forth to keep calm.

 _7...6...5_

Hands began grabbing me almost everywhere, either desperately trying to get my attention or drag me somewhere else.

 _4...3...8? 17? 35?_

I was already getting too paranoid and too frustrated, that I lost count. Out of all that, I screamed, "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Everything seemed to have ceased but I refused to open my eyes as I sat quietly and listen to my own rapid breathing. As soon as my breathing returned to normal, I opened my eyes as the hallucinations have vanished.

I put my head between my legs and began to cry.

* * *

I don't know which ones worse, the zombie apocalypse itself or my own Schizophrenia. Yes, you heard right, I'm a Schizophrenic. But what surprises me is how long I have survived in this hell-hole. 2 years. 2 years I've been surviving here for. Which is weird, considering that me with my mental disorder should only give me a 2:5 ratio for surviving by my count.

My name is Joyce McCullough and yes, I'm a female, perhaps shortening my chances of surviving even more because of that. Life was hell for me even before the zombies, surviving on a day to day basis, just trying to not go mad from my schizophrenia. But when you throw in the actual apocalypse into the equation, I'm not really sure what I'm surviving for anymore.

I'd probably give myself a week before dining with Saten in Hell. I guess there's nothing left for me to do but see how far I'll live before biting the dust. Well, what's see how far I get...

* * *

Dark clouds rolled overhead, threatening to unleash its wraith. I walked slowly down the empty street of Richmond Hill, Georgia. I've been walking for days since the incident in Lyons and my legs are exhausted. The question of why I travel to find a safe haven still rolled around my mind because no matter where I ended up, it was all the same; deserted, destroyed and plagued with the risen dead. Maybe there's no hope anywhere in this world anymore.

It began to drizzle and thunder could be heard overhead, giving me a sign that it'll be storming here pretty soon.

I finally found myself staring at my reflection at a cracked mirror someone left behind. My shoulder length black hair was covered in grease and muck, my once lively brown eyes are now looking like they had no more life within them, my brown light coat and black sweatpants are covered in mud, blood and other unknown fluids, my survival pack hung loosely behind me and my tan tennis shoes are torn to hell.

Man, what I would kill for a hot bath right about now. I continued to stare at my disgusted self before I spotted something or someone watching me from afar through the mirror. I whip around to find a human-like figure standing forty feet away, motionless. The figure was wearing a black heavy coat with the hood up, covering up his/her face, brown cargo pants, brown boots and a military style backpack.

Please let it be another hallucination, I pleaded to myself before quickly jogging into another street away from the figure. The rain began to fall quicker as a flash of lightning lit up the dark skies above. I finally decided to take refugee a half destroyed building. I quickly fumbled through the rubble of the building until I reached what I assumed to be the basement.

I grabbed my oil lamp from my survival pack that I found on my way here and I just hope it works. I turn the knob to surprisingly find out that it actually works. I slowly descended down the stairs, cautious not to alarm any unaware Walkers that may be down here. But thankfully that there were none as I found myself in an empty room.

It seemed that part of the basement has caved in on itself, giving limited room set up camp for the night. I was about to begin setting up when I heard a weak moan echo throughout the basement.

"Hello?" I called out before quickly grabbing a broken pipe from tge ground. "Is anyone there?" I called out again in hopes of getting a reply.

Another moan echoed again as I look to the ground to find someone pinned under the enormous rubble. Judging by how the moans sounded, it was a woman.

"Miss? Miss! Are you alright?" I asked as I rushed over to the pinned woman. The woman began to hiss at me and tried to grab for me, which I found odd before I shun my light on the woman's face to finally realize she wasn't human anymore. I was kind of relieved that I wasn't putting a human out of their misery but I still felt a little bad for this person. I positioned the pipe onto the Walkers head as it continued to struggle to reach for me.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered before turning my head away and applied pressure as I heard the skull crack from the pipe and the last ghastly moan of the Walker. I removed the pipe from the Walker's head before tossing it aside.

Even though I've seen death and destruction everywhere I turn, it was still hard to kill something, even though it was technically dead.

I choose to nessle a the furthest corner away from the stairs as I dimmed the oil lamp just enough to barley see. I tore everything out of my survival pack for my routine check. I had a MCU2/P gas mask I swiped from an abandoned military camp, three sets of flashlights with extra batteries, my Glock 35, several scavenged boxes of bullets for assault rifles, snipers, and shotguns, five cans of food, three water bottle of water and other random stuff.

I repackaged everything back into my pack except for a can of mixed vegetables. I open the can and started digging in with my fingers. As I ate, the storm must be picking up because I heard water splashing hard on cement somewhere else in the basement and muffled thunder coming from outside.

As soon as I was done eating, the temperature felt like it dropped by twenty degrees and I huddled close to myself to keep warm. _Well, it couldn't get any worst than this, right?_

Just as I thought that, the flames began to flicker before burning out of existence and leaving me in the dark...alone and cold.

 _Great, me and my big mouth!_ I thought angrily. I was too cold to move as I felt drowsy. I tried to fight the urge to sleep but the sensation was too strong. My eyes closed and the only thing I could do now was hope for a better tomorrow...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I woke to the sound of crackling as my eyes fluttered open to a campfire. I watched the flames dance all around as the heat warmed my chilled body. I let out a heavenly sigh for this campfire before suddenly realizing that I didn't build a fire so that meant SOMEONE else was in here.

My head snapped upright and looked around to see the same figure I encountered in the street sitting on the opposite side of the flames, quietly observing me. My hands flew for my survival pack before I pulled out my Glock 35 and pointed it at the figure. Even though it was unloaded, the figure didn't know that.

"Don't freaking move!" I hissed in anger as the figure slowly put its hands up in surrender. "What are you doing here, huh? Food? Shelter? To kill me for my supplies?" I kept pressing questions onto the figure, trying to break him/her to talk. The gun trembled in my hands from fear and I just hoped they don't see it.

The figure slowly reached for his hood before pulling it back, revealing a boy underneath. This boy had to be around seventeen or eighteen with short, spiky brown hair, emerald colored eyes that glistered in the campfire, a small but noticeable scar on his right cheek that looked like a knife or animal has done it.

"W-who are you?" I asked, a little shocked on how much of a hunk he looked like...

I shook myself out of my inner emotions before getting serious again. "I'm not going to ask again, who are you or I'll be painting your brains all over this area!" I threatened before the boy began doing something with his hands that I immediately recognized it as Sign Language and thank god that I know it too.

"Your deaf?" I asked, lowering my gun a bit. The boy nodded which only told me that he can read lips as well.

"What's your name?" I asked this time as the boy grabbed a broken piece of a pipe before writing something on the ground. As soon as he was done, I shifted myself a bit to get a better look at it.

"Jade Dymott?" I read as 'Jade' nodded in response. _I guess I could trust him...for now_ , I thought as I put my pistol down but kept it at my side because I didn't trust him well enough.

Jade let out a sigh of before putting his hands down and began to sign, _"Oh, thanks for not shooting me, I really appreciate it. Anyway, I never caught your name_."

"It's Joyce. Joyce McCullough." I introduced myself as Jade nodded his head in approval.

" _Joyce, huh. That's a neat name_." Jade signed, making me blush a little at his comment. I've gotta stop that, I barely know the guy, let alone even trust him.

" _Well Joyce, you'd better rest up a little long, it's still crappy out there. I'll wake you when things have cleared up_." Jade explained as I gave him a unconvinced expression.

"How do I know your not just softening up so I can let my guard down and you can kill me?" I asked bluntly as Jade let out a shrug and signed once more.

" _You don't. You've just got to trust me_."

He had me there. There was no way I could figure out how I should trust him, so I'll just need to trust him.

I shuffled around before I finally get comfortable again. I let the sound of the flames crackle to send me back asleep before my eyes slowly closed and I'm enclosed in a world of darkness.

* * *

 **4 hours later...**

I was awoken by someone nudging me. My instincts kicked in as I quickly reach for my gun but before I could grab it, a hand stops me. I was about to swing my free hand at my attacker but stop myself when I finally realize that it was only Jade.

" _Whoa, whoa, its only me. There's no need to fight_." Jade signed before gently letting go of my hand. I guess I haven't fully adjusted to traveling with another person.

"Sorry about that, instincts." I said as Jade nodded his head like he understands why I did it. Traveling with a new companion will be a big adjustment to me and I'm not sure how well this will turn out. I slowly rose to my feet and stretched before grabbing my stuff.

I watched as Jade began to snuff out rhe campfire as it slowly died away, leaving us in the dark. Suddenly, a light flickered on from a flashlight and felt Jade's hand grasping onto mine. I tensed up a bit as I fought the urge to smack him as he led the way out of the basement. As soon as we reached ground level, I shielded my eyes from the sunlight since I've been down there for quite awhile. When my eyes adjusted to the light the sun, judging by high the sun was, it had to be around high noonish. Me and Jade slowly made our way out of the rubble to the streets.

Jade suddenly stopped me before turning to me and started signing. " _Careful now, we don't know who or what's roaming the streets now. Follow my lead and keep your head down_." I nodded in response as me and Jade quietly dashed into an alleyway towards another street.

Jade stopped me once more before peeking around the corner. Jade's hand clutched into a fist as he trembled a bit. What's wrong with him? I thought curiosity before Jade looked back at me with concern.

" _There's three Bandits sitting near the end of the street. We're going to have to be stealthy to get past them. I would take care of them but I don't have my necessary equipment with me_." Jade quickly signed.

"Where is your equipment?" I quietly asked.

" _There back at where I made camp, just a few streets up. Come on, let's sneak past them_." Jade signed before he motioned me to follow and we both raced to our nearest cover which was a car.

I quietly pressed my back against the car before taking a quick peek around the car. Jade was correct, there were three Bandits with tattered clothing, one of them had a hunting rifle with them and seemed to be wearing odd looking mask.

I duck my head back around and look at Jade who was fidgeting as his hands clutched in anger.

"What do we do now?" I mouthed as Jade looked around, possibly looking for something to distract the Bandits, but he just fiercely shook his head.

" _Alright, alright. This is what we're going to do, I'm going to open this car door up and hopefully the alarm doesn't go off and I'm going to see if there's anything we could use in there_." Jade signed before I nodded in agreement with his plans.

Jade slowly adjusted himself before silently opening the car door up. The good news is that the car alarm didn't go off, but the bad news is that a decomposed corpse landed right on top of me.

Just the sight of the corpse that was decomposed beyond recognition with hanging dead skin inches from my face wanted me to puke. The smell of it wasn't helping my case either as it smelled like spoiled cheese left out in the baking sun for weeks at a time. I also noticed a bullet wound in the corpse's head, which meant whomever it was took their life to either escape this new reality or stop him or her self from becoming one of them.

A scream began to build up within me but before I could let it out, Jade's hand slapped over my mouth, preventing me from making any noise. Jade put a finger to his lips to indicate me to keep quiet. _Easy for you to say! You don't have a dead body laying on you!_ I thought angrily to myself before there was a sudden clash of something metal hitting the pavement.

I darted my eye to the side to see a 9mm Winchester Magnum pistol laying right next to me. _Oh, crap!_ I hastily thought.

"Hey, did you guys hear that?" one of the Bandits asked, possibly looking our way. Please don't see us, please don't see us l, please don't see us... I kept pleading as the Bandit who must have heard us came walking this way.

I could visibly see beads of sweat begin to form on Jade's forehead before he reached for an object nearest to him which was a broken piece of wood. Jade gripped it like a stake as he readied himself to stab the Bandit. I was especially trembling more and more with anxiety with the Bandit's every step forward. But before the Bandit could get close enough to discover us, a sudden voice called out, "Hey Matt! Enough screwing around, we gotta go meet the others now."

I watched in relief as the Bandit known as Matt walk back to the others before they hopped into a car and sped out of town towards the freeway. Jade let out a sigh of relief before removing his hand and throwing the corpse off of me.

" _Are you okay?"_ Jade asked as he helped me to my feet. Even though I'm disgusted and on the verge of vomiting, I just nodded my head.

" _Alright, let's be off before anything else happens_." Jade signed as we took off down several more alleyways before we reached a reddish brick two-story building that looked like a local mechanic company. The sign was too eradicated to read and the windows and doors were boarded up tightly, meaning there is no way of busting through those barricades.

"How are we suppose to get in there?" I asked as Jade gave me a sly smile and guided me to the side of the building. Jade began to feel around each of the bricks as I half expected him to pull a hidden switch or something but instead, he half pulled out a brick before grabbing another and doing the same.

I didn't quite understand what Jade was doing before seeing that he was making a brick climbing wall to the roof. I had to admit, that is one damn clever idea.

" _Your turn. Now remember, kick the bricks back in as you make your way up_." Jade signed as soon as he got up as I nodded and began pushing myself up as well. Doing as I was told, I kicked the bricks back in place before making it to the roof which was covered in tarps. Jade guided me once more to the middle of the building before he pulled a certain tarp away, revealing a hole.

We entered and fumbled around before Jade found the door that lead right into an actual house. This must be the home proportion of the building, I guessed before following Jade downstairs and into the garage. The garage was pretty much empty with only several cabnits and a lone motorcycle. I made my way over to the motorcycle to inspect it only to find that the motorcycle was in perfect shape.

" _I see your admiring my Kawasaki Ninja 250. Its a beauty, built it myself_." Jade happily signed as I stared surprisingly at him.

"You built this all by yourself?!" I asked, shocked. Jade lightly chuckled before giving me a warm smile.

" _Well, not exactly. I found this bike laying underneath a bunch of rubble two months ago. It only needed a few minor repairs. I finished repairing about five days ago_." Jade explained as I let out a little giggle for being unambiguous.

I continued to look over the bike, admiring the handiwork Jade had put into it this bile to bring it to its original state. I had to admit, he knew exactly how to fix this bike up.

" _Can I see your backpack for a moment?"_ Jade asked me as I looked at him with confusion and distrust. We've only known each other for a few hours and he suspects me just to hand over my supplies to him? Not even when he asked nicely.

" _Don't worry, I'm not going to steal anything from you. I'm just putting a few more stuff in it_." Jade signed as I was still a little skeptical about it. But I eventually handed Jade my backpack, receiving a pleasing smile before he walked back into the house.

I decided to take another look around the garage to find several pictures pinned to a billboard. I examined them further to see that it was a picture of a family of three; a father, a mother, and a son, standing in front of what looked like Mt. Rushmore. Each picture showed a different timeline and a different setting. I couldn't really make out who the son was but I had a feeling that it was Jade for some reason.

Could this have been Jade's family and this is where he lives? I questioned to myself before I heard footsteps coming this way. I turned to see Jade walking back in with a totally different outfit. A dark brown leather trench coat, navy blue sweatpants, still his military backpack, black combat boots and a red bandana around his neck.

He stopped several feet away from me before he looked between me and the pictures, quietly surveying the scene in front of him.

" _Don't worry, this isn't my home, I'm just been camping here for awhile. So that ain't me or my family in those photos_." Jade explained as I let out a sigh of relief that we wouldn't be getting in a sympathy session...for now.

"So...who taught you how to fix things?" I asked, trying to get off the topic.

" _My father was was a mechanic and an engineer. He taught me how to build and repair things when I was five years old. And I've loved it ever since. It's funny, that I've chosen this place than all the other places. I guess I just feel safer where its familiar..."_ Jade said as he let out a heavy sigh.

 _Crap! Come Joyce, think of something else to say_ , I fustratedly said to myself, trying desperately to avoid anything that could resurface memories of our normal lives before the epidemic.

"So...where are we headed now?" I asked again, hoping to avoid it this time around. Jade looked at me with a bit of sadden eyes like he was saying that there is nowhere to go anymore, that everything we fight for is lost in the darkness forever.

" _Atlanta. The last thing I heard, some survivors are camping somewhere within the city. If we can get there, maybe they could be a great asset to us on getting to Oregon. Oh yeah, here you go_." Jade explained before handing me my backpack which felt a bit heavier than usual.

"Thanks, but why Oregon?"

" _Rumors have it, there's still an operative CDC there and hopefully they have a cure for this whole mess. So what do you say, are you in?"_ Jade asked, extending his arm out towards me, awaiting my decision.

I thought about it for a moment. Maybe the western coast is cooping better with this disaster better than the eastern coast is. But then again, it is a long way to Oregon, and many dangers could await for us, that includes my Schizophrenia.

"Eh, why not. Okay I promise to go to Oregon with you." I decided before shaking his hand.

" _Alright, its a promise then. Saddle up now, we're going_." Jade signed before letting go of my hand and reached over to a table with two helmets.

" _Ready to go?"_ Jade asked as I nodded and put on my helmet as me and Jade opened the garage door before we hopped on the motorcycle. Jade kick started the bike to life before tearing out of the garage and onto the streets. I held onto Jade for dear life as I could feel him chuckling. Remind me to smack him when I get the chance.

Jade was constantly avoiding objects for awhile before taking a turn on an empty road take hopefully took us to Atlanta as I watched the world come and go in a blur.

* * *

 **6 hours later...**

The sun was just barely touching horizon before Jade eventually began to slow down before coming to a complete halt. I guess I was a little fatigued from the motorcycle ride because as soon as I hopped off, I collapsed to my knees.

" _Are you alright?"_ Jade asked, kicking the kickstand on the motorcycle and rushed over to my side.

"I'm fine. Just a little fatigued from the ride..." I said as Jade helped me to my feet and I turned to see Atlanta about a mile away from us. The city was a little more destroyed than I expected as it looked like a war took place there with half-destroyed buildings.

" _Alright, let's go_." Jade signed before he began walking towards the city without the bike.

"Wait, why aren't we taking the bike with?" I asked as soon as I reached him, making him stop and stare at me with a are-you-kidding-me look on his face.

" _Do you really want to take a roaring hunk of metal into the city? We'd attract every Deado in the whole city_."

"Deado?" I asked confusedly.

" _Yeah, that's what I call these walking nightmares_." Jade explained, giving me a slight smile.

"That's a stupid name for them." I blurted out as Jade laughed at my comment.

" _Well, its better name than not calling them anything at all_." Jade signed back, actually getting me with that.

" _Hey, did you see that?"_ Jade asked as he pointed towards the city. I looked at where he was pointing but saw nothing out of the ordinary before a light flickered in the air like they were signaling something.

"What is that?" I asked as Jade just shook his head, probably indicating that he doesn't know.

" _No clue, but we're going to find out_." Jade signed before we heard distant gunfire coming on the other end of the flickering lights.

"Those people firing their weapons could be in trouble. We've gotta help them!" I said as Jade looked between the two choices in front of us before looking back at me.

" _Yeah, but we can only investigate one of them, so which is it going to be?"_

 **[Investigate flickering lights]**  
 **[Investigate gunfire]**

* * *

 **Decisons, Decsions, what will you choose? thats up to you. Also, the decisons you guys make throughout the story will ultimately affect the characters for better or for the worst. So in other words, you have the power to save a character's life or end it. Anyway, here's an offical OC submit if any of you wanna make a character for this story:**

 **Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Gender:**

 **Looks:**

 **Skills:**

 **Strength:**

 **Weakness:**

 **Background:**

 **Has with them:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The last of the sun's light vanished behind the horizon by the time we reached the city limits of Atlanta. The gunfire has ceased as well, meaning either that whoever was firing has taken out their target or they themselves have been taken out. But that was no matter to us because we chose to take a look into the flickering lights. With the moonlight as our only light, me and Jade quickly moved through the deserted streets, avoiding anything that could potentially become a hazard to us.

"What do you think the flickering lights are?" I asked as Jade looked at me with confusion of why I asked that question.

" _I don't know, but we're going to find out_." Jade signed before stopping and looking around, probably getting his bearings.

"Maybe its a UFO." I joked, receiving a small chuckle from Jade.

" _Yeah, then I'm sure the aliens wouldn't mind us taking it for a spin._ " Jade signed as I couldn't help but laugh at his joke before we started moving again.

We were making great time to where we saw the flickering lights before I heard a moan coming from somewhere within the darkness. I grabbed onto Jade's shoulder, making him stop and turn to me in slight concern. I took a quick sweep of our surroundings to see where the moaning was coming from before seeing movement in the shadows. I squinted my eyes to get a better sight of who or what it is. My eyes widen in fear to notice that it was Walkers coming towards us in all directions. I counted at least eighteen of them.

"Heads up! We got Deados incoming!"

Great, the first chance I get and I'm already using the stupid nickname...

I reached for my gun in my backpack as Jade opened up his trench coat to reveal two odd colored swords attached to each of his sides as he grabs for them and takes a defensive stance. I pointed my weapon at the nearest Deado's head and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out as the Deado collapses to the ground.

I fire four more shots, taking out four of them before turning around to see how Jade is holding out. To my surprise, Jade was doing pretty damn good as he swung his swords and slicing through decaying flesh. I was also surprised how easily the blades ripped into the skin like a hot knife through butter.

I watched in a bit of astonishment as Jade continue to hack and slash into Deado lifeless corpses. It wasn't until Jade split open one of the Deado's skull down the middle for me to look away for a moment. As soon as I brought enough courage to look again, Jade had turned his attention to me. I was confused for a second of why he turned his attention to me before he started rushing towards me. My heart began to pound in my chest because of this before he thrusted his sword towards my head. I closed my eyes in fear of meeting my end from whom I thought I could trust.

But after a while, nothing has happened so I force myself to open my eyes. The blade Jade thrusted at me is now close to my head as I slowly turned around to find a Deado on the other end of the blade, just inches away from me. Which only means that Jade was only saving my ass.

"Thanks..." I quietly said as Jade slightly nodded his head and withdrew his blade from the Deado's skull.

I fired six more rounds into the horde of Deados but no matter how many we kill, they just seem to be multiplying. If we don't do anything fast, we are dead meat! Before I could go into panic mode, a sudden shot rang out, taking out a Deado. I looked around for who could of taken that shot before a voice screamed out in the distance.

"Over here! Hurry!" the voice called out before a sudden bright light flashed on a roof of a warehouse looking building seventy feet away from our position.

More shots rang out, taking more of them out as I looked at Jade for his opinion. Jade looked at me with an undetermined look before slightly nodding his head in approval.

"C'mon!" the voice urged before me and Jade raced toward the building at full speed, taking out a few Deados on the way.

As we drew near the building, a door opens as a massive male-like figure steps out and bashes the nearest Deado in the head with a baseball bat, taking it clean off its shoulders before swinging it at another which sent that one in the wall, spattering its brains all over the wall.

"Get your asses in here NOW!" the figure demanded with a slight deep tone as me and Jade ducked right in.

As soon as we fully got inside, the figure slammed the metal door shut and pushed the large lock in place. Before I could thank whoever saved us, I'm suddenly grabbed and pushed into the wall. Jade watched in surprise before being pushed into the wall by the large figure.

"Check everywhere. Make sure they're not bit anywhere." a sudden female called in front of me as a bright light shone on my face. I reached over and gripped onto Jade's arm as I could feel him struggling against his figure's grip.

"Quit struggling you little turd..." the figure said as Jade ignored him.

"She's clean. You?" the female figure asked.

"Same."

Suddenly, we're both released from our gripped prison as the light is removed from my face, finally allowing my eyes adjust to the light of this place. Jade was ready to attack but I stopped him by putting my arm in front of him, making him look at me with confusion and anger before letting out a sigh and sheathed his swords. I turned back to the man and woman who saved us from that attack. The male was an African-American, wearing a teal T-shirt, black baggy pants, brown track shoes. He was also easily seven feet tall, clearly built like a professional boxer or wrestler. Remind me not to screw with this guy in any way.

The woman however, she was quite short, probably a few inches shorter than me. She was a bit pale as she had shoulder length red hair, despite how warm it was, she was wearing a light orange coat, navy blue khakis, tan-colored shoes and black gloves covering her hands.

"Listen, I'd like t-"

I'm suddenly interrupted by the girl reaching behind her back and pulled out a gun and pointed held us at gunpoint.

"Don't you move!" the girl hissed as me and Jade slowly raised our hands in surrender.

So much for being friendly...

"Just because we saved you guys doesn't mean that you might not be one of them." the girl said in a hostile tone.

"What do you mean? Didn't you just clarify that we were clean?" I asked in confusion.

"Not one of them, the other them!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The girl gave me a look that didn't sit well with me. Probably I should watch what I say when I'm being held a gunpoint.

"She means bandits. How do we know your not bandits." the male stepped in, clearing up that nonsense.

"Please, we are not bandits. We mean you no harm." I pleaded to them, hoping that they'll believe us.

"I don't believe you..." the woman sneered before cocking the hammer back and pointed it at Jade.

"Now Kat, think about what your doing here." the male urged.

"Shut up Miles! Your not the boss of me!" the girl known as Kat shouted out angrily.

Kat and Miles continued to argue over who was in charge as me and Jade looked at each other, unsure to surprise attack them or just sit here and watch them bicker. But before things could go from bad to worse, there was a sudden weak voice that spoke up. "Please, stop it." the voice said before there was series of coughs. I looked beyond Kat and Miles to see a woman propped up against one of the support beams with a blanket wrapped around her and a small fire close to her. Even though I was pretty far from her, I could tell she was really pale and sweat dripped down her face as she coughed some more.

"Is she sick?" I asked in concern as Kat and Miles stopped fighting and looked back at me.

"That is none of your business!" Kat said before pointing the gun in my direction.

Just when I thought it was all over for me, there was another voice that spoke up in the darkness.

"Enough Kat!" the voice called out before another male appeared from almost nowhere. This male was perfectly tan and slightly built, green eyes, short brown hair with Aviator sunglasses resting on top of his head, a sniper rifle strapped to his back, he was wearing a grey shirt underneath a military jacket, dogtags, brown baggy pants and camouflage combat boots.

"Fine! You deal with them. But don't come crying to me when you get stabbed in the back!" Kat snapped before putting away her gun and stormed off from all of us.

The military looking guy let out a deep sigh and muttered something that I didn't quite catch before turning his attention to us.

"Sorry about that, Kat can be a little aggressive towards new people. Anyway, I'm Zach and by now you've already met Miles and Kat. And that over there is Martha. And you are?" Zach introduced as I took another look at the sick woman known as Martha.

"I'm Joyce and this here is Jade." I introduced ourselves as Jade gave them a distrust look but waved a half decent hello to them. I took a quick survey of the building we were in to see if this was a good place to be or not away from the Deados.

"Are you sure this is a good place to be?" I asked Zach, trying to get a ensuring answer.

"You know what, I'm not sure ourselves. We took refuge her by accident and it seems to have been doing a good job of keeping out those things. This must of been a refuge place when the military tried to contain the virus. the windows are shuttered shut tightly and the doors are reinforced with steel doors. There's also still a few supplies here and there."

Suddenly, Martha began to violently cough as I wanted to rush to her side to see if she was alright but Zach prevented me from doing so.

"I'm sorry but nobody is allowed to near her..."

"Why not?" I asked in confusion and curiosity.

"We're not sure but whatever it is, it could be contagious. Martha wishes for nobody to come near and we're going to respect her wish."

I looked at Martha with sadness and sympathy as Martha began to have another coughing fit. I can kinda see why she did it so that she doesn't get the rest of them sick.

"Is there anything else that can help Martha?" I asked as Zach folded his arms and looked at Martha, deep in thought.

"Well, we did have this medical student that was in our group but we got separated from them a few days because of a group of bandits. We took refuge here as they took refuge in a house down the street. We've been communicating Morse Code with the headlights on the roof for awhile. But now, we haven't heard from them in the past few hours." Zach explained before putting his head down in sadness.

_Well, that solves the flickering lights mystery_, I thought before I looked at Jade with a pleading expression. Jade shook his head but I kept my pleading look up before he finally gave in and nodded his head.

"Zach, we'd be glad to help you out." I said, making Zach lift up his head.

"You will?" Zach asked, lifting his eyebrows in surprise.

I just nodded as Zach chuckles a bit in delight before giving me a gratitude smile.

"Well if you insist, we all greatly appreciate it. But first, ask me one question." Zach said, giving me a benefit of a doubt for helping these people.

"Why hasn't your friend Jade spoken one word since he got here?" Zach asked but before I could tell him, Jade began to rapidly sign something that I couldn't keep up but it had a LOT of swear words in it.

"Wow, your friend has a lot to say." Zach observed.

"You know Sign Language?" I asked in surprise.

"Not really but the way he signed, he must be in an upset mood."

"Great, we saved ourselves a freak..." Kat mumbled loud enough for me to hear that made me ball my hands into a fist in anger for calling Jade a freak.

But before I could go over and beat the living crap outta her, Zach spoke up again to Jade.

"Listen Jade, I know we don't see eye to eye but I assure you, none of us here want to hurt you." he said as Jade gave him an unconvinced look, making Zach heave out a heavy sigh.

"You still don't trust us...and frankly I don't blame you. But before I forget, I watched you through my scope while you guys were defending yourselves, I could'nt help but notice how good you were with those Viper Twin Rainbow Swords." Zach noted as Jade took out his swords and looked at Zach in a bit of surprise. _So that's what those swords are called_ , I thought to myself.

" _You know about swords?_ " Jade asked as Zach looked at me for what he asked.

"He asked if you know anything about swords." I translated.

"Only bits and pieces, my father was into swords and he taught me a few things about them. But I was more into the guns than the swords..." Zach said as he and Jade tried to communicate by other means.

Just watching them two did bring me a bit of happiness that the people I've encountered have been interacting with one another for the better. I haven't seen anything like this in over a year. As much as I would like to saviour the moment, I'm suddenly interrupted by Miles.

"Hey Joyce, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

I walked over where Miles was at. But the closer I got to him, the more I noticed sadness within his eyes.

"Hey Miles, what's up?"

Miles let out a saddened sigh before he looked like he was about to start crying.

"Your going to the others, right? Well, please take this." he said before handing me a silencer. "This should silence your kills and not draw too much attention to yourselves. Also, take this as well." he continued as he handed me a walkie talkie.

"Please, when you find the others, look for a little girl. Her name's Melody, she's only five years old. Tell her that her father misses her every second and he'll see her in a bit..." Miles's voice trailed off as he looked down in sadness.

I couldn't help see him sad that I put my hand on his gigantic should before pulling him into a hug. Instead of pushing me away like I'd thought, he embraced my hug and wrapped his arms around me. I just hope that he doesn't give me a bear hug.

"Hey Joyce, you ready?" Zach suddenly called as Miles broke the hug and gave me an appreciated grin before I walked over to where Zach and Jade was waiting for me.

Zach guided us to another heavy steel door in the way back of the building. Zach gave us a reassuring look, probably trying to have us rethink what we're doing for them but I just nodded my head as Jade did nothing. Zach let out a sigh of defeat before unlocking the steel door and heaved the door open. I looked at where Martha was as she was hacking and coughing viciously.

 _Hang in there Martha, we'll bring you the help you need_ , I pleaded before me and Jade walked out of the building and back into the darkness.

* * *

 **Should Joyce and Jade trust them, even after being saved by them? More Importantly, would _you_ trust them. AlsovI had to split off the chapter due to it being too long, so OC's will begin appearing in chapter 5 instead of chapter 4.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I haven't given up yet!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Eerie silence filled the streets all around us, making me nervous of what could be out there lurking in the darkness beyond. Jade lead us through the deserted street, which was weird considering that thousands of Deados infest this city, with nothing but the moonlight as our only source of light.

Our destination of where the other survivors were sheltering at finally came into view as it was a two-story stone Victorian style house. Replacing where the once beautiful windows was wood as some of the bricks seed to have been cracked or completely missing. The house looked abandoned even before the Apocalypse, which sent an unpleasant feeling through me.

Jade gripped my shoulder, making me turn to him to see what he wants.

" _You okay_?" Jade signed with a bit of concern in his eyes.

"Y-yeah, its just that this house gives me the creeps." I responded as Jade smirked a little before patting my shoulder.

We silently approach the house but I wasn't one hundred percent sure we should be going in unarmed mostly because we don't know what kind of people we will be dealing with in there. But Jade insisted that we go in weapons free.

By the time we reached the entrance, I started to feel uneasy about helping this group. We could be walking right into a trap for all we know. Now that I think about it, was it really a good idea to trust these group of people?

Before I could reconsider what we're doing, Jade slightly nudged the barricaded door only to find it toppling into the house, which meant something's very wrong here.

Jade turned to me and nodded before grabbing out one of his swords while I pulled out my pistol and flashlight. Everything went silent again as me and Jade cautiously entered the house.

I clicked on my flashlight before placing it next to my pistol and pointed my weapon around to check if it was clear as Jade stood ready to attack.

 _Joyce..._

A sudden voice called out behind me, making me whip around and point my pistol in the voice's direction but there was nobody there.

 _Weird, that voice..._ I thought of why it sounded familiar but I couldn't place why.

 _Joyce..._

The voice called again, this time coming from somewhere up the stairs. I turn to see if Jade has noticed my behavior but he was silently making his way into what must have been the front room, leaving me to deal with this voice alone.

I didn't have much of a choice but to check out where the mysterious voice was coming from. The stairs creaked heavily underneath my weight as I slowly made my way upstairs.

The atmosphere up here changed drastically, making me feel uneasy about what lies ahead. Breathe, Joyce, breathe, I told myself to keep myself calm before mustering up enough courage to move on.

 _This way, that's it._

The voice urged me as my heart thudded against my ribcage, making my breathing increase. I soon came to a door at the end of the hall as I saw a faint light coming from below the door, meaning someone must be behind here.

My hands began to tremble as I reached for the door as the uneasy feeling I've been dealing with grew stronger.

I was finally able to grip the doorknob before I closed my eyes to calm myself. _Nothing to worry about, there's nothing to fear from whatever's happening, maybe it'll go away soon_ , I told myself before turning the knob.

The door creaked open, announcing my presence if I haven't done so already. But what I see beyond the door isn't what I'd suspect at all.

Several oil lanterns lit up the room as disembodied parts were arranged in odd ways and blood covered 90% of the surfaces. Parts of hands and legs were violently ripped apart from God knows who's body and strung up to the ceiling by barbwire, dangling ever so slightly.

Somebody's chest was hollowed out as an oil lamp lit brightly inside, barely reflecting through the skin. One person was actually nailed to the wall, kind of reminding me of Jesus Christ on the cross, except that it was a girl and it looked like the bottom half was violently ripped from her with most of her organs barely hanging from her body.

There were also a pile of other bodies laying around with their heads nowhere in sight. _Where could their hea..._ I began to think before seeing them stuck on pikes, lining all around the room.

I couldn't take this anymore as I fell to my knees and blew a chunks all over. I sunk my head into my eyes before sobbing lightly. I tried to shake the horrible images from my head but I know those will forever burn in my subconscious for as long as I live.

 _Oh God, these...these are the others. W-who would have the decency to kill them like this?! I_ thought to myself.

 _Sleep, now, sleep,_

 _Thy papa guards the sheep;_

 _Thy mama shakes the dreamland tree_

 _And from it fall sweet dreams for thee,_

 _Sleep, now, sleep.._

The same distant voice sang, forcing myself to look back up at the horrible scene. Standing in the middle of it all was a women wearing a burnt up Classic Corduroy Shirtdress and no shoes. She had to be slightly taller than me as she was facing away, giving me no distinctive features to work with of who she is other than her long, flowing blonde hair.

 _Sleep, now, sleep,_

 _Our cottage vale is deep;_

 _The little lamb is on the green,_

 _With woolly fleece so soft and clean,_

 _Sleep, now, sleep..._

The woman kept singing before humming. I slowly picked myself off the floor and aimed my pistol at the woman's head but my hands started to shake. _Who is this woman? And why does she have that familiar voice?_ I asked to myself.

 _Sleep, now, sleep,_

 _Down where the woodbines creep;_

 _Be always like the lamb so mild,_

 _A kind and sweet and gentle child,_

 _Sleep, now, sleep_

The woman finished singing before letting out a gentle sigh. The gun began to tremble more in my shaken hands before the woman finally spoke up.

"Oh Joyce, its good to finally see you again. For a second there, I'd thought you'd never come." she said, making tremble even more in fear as I tried to think of who this girl could be and how she could have snuck into the room.

"But I got bored of waiting and decided to have a little fun with these people." the girl snickered out before finally turning around.

My heart began to race as I recognized the woman even through the burnt scars all over her face. Most of her face was burnt away, forever leaving her one eye open and her teeth exposed. The pistol dropped out of my trembling hands as fear took hold of me.

"Awww, what's wrong, you don't recognize me anymore?" she mocked to me.

"Aunt Sidney! I-it can't be you. Y-you died in a fire years ago!" I stuttered out, making my Aunt snicker.

"Was I now? And you believed that like all other lies?"

"All other lies?" I echoed in question.

"You haven't seen much of the world for years before the Apocalypse. What an ignorant girl you have become. It makes me wander how you've managed to survive all these years." Cindy remarked, making me ball my hands into a fist in anger.

"S-shut up! You don't know how I lived all these years! And you aren't my aunt anymore, you're nothing but a lying, cheating MONSTER!" I screamed out, fighting back the tears in my eyes.

In an instant, Sidney rushed toward me before grabbing me by the shoulder with one hand and hair in the other before throwing me into the nearest wall.

"I'm a lying monster, eh? Well, who was there to support you when everybody else abandoned your ass? Me. Who defended you to stay before they sent you away? Me! Who visited you every fucking day in that hellhole? ME! you see? I was the only one there for you. I basically sacrificed a lot for you and became a mother to you!"

Sidney started to swing me around, smashing my back against the wall aggressively. "Please, stop it! Let me go!" I shouted in terror.

"No! Not till you learn!" Sidney growled out, her words becoming more and more distorted.

I forced myself to close my eyes as I started to uncontrollably sob.

"You been nothing but an uncivilized little shit in my absence. And I must correct it..." My Aunt said before I heard her sinister laugh as well as her screaming and crackling fire before everything went silent.

I let a few more minutes of silence go by before I opened my eyes to find my Aunt was nowhere in the room anymore, which only meant that it was my schizophrenia... Again.

I slid down the blood soaked, possibly getting blood on my clothes and in my hair but I didn't care. I then curled my legs up to my head and begin to sob once more.

What felt like hours of sobbing, a sudden noise of the door crashes into the wall, making the whole room shake. But I didn't look up to see who it was. A gentle, firm hand grasped my shoulder and lightly shook me.

"Go away..." I mumbled even though I knew Jade wouldn't understand me.

A few more minutes pass as I finally get a hold of myself before drying my eyes with my knees before finally looking up.

 _"Are you okay?"_ Jade signed with a mixture of a concern and scared expression on his face.

"I'm fine..." I muttered quietly, receiving a questionable look from him.

" _Are you sure?_ "

"I SAID I'M FINE!" I snapped, making Jade back up from my outburst and raise his hands in surrender. I dipped my head down again and took deep breaths to calm myself before I go completely berserk.

"I'm sorry... Its just...nothing..." I said as jade looked at me with a expressionless face, not sure how to take what's going on with me right now.

Finally, I forced myself up from the ground before looking around the room again. This time, I noticed little kid drawings plastered all around. I looked at each one of the doodles until I came across one that made my heart skip a beat.

The picture depicted an oddly shaped male human being with big arms and a small female with angel wings. Through most of the blood stains on the picture, I could barely read out the handwriting; 'Goodbye Daddy, I'll be with Mommy soon'.

My eyes began to tear up as my heart felt like its being ripped right out of my chest. _H-How could they do that...?_ I asked myself in slight anger.

I carefully rip down the picture and fold it into my pocket before Jade tapped my shoulder. I turned around as he motioned me to follow him before accompanying him to the girl nailed to the wall.

"What is it?" I asked a little too exasperatedly mostly because I just didn't want to look at these people who must have been viciously tortured before dying.

Jade carefully reached for something dangling on the corpse's chest before slightly yanking it off and showed it to me. Jade then proceeded to wipe the blood from whatever was in his hands to reveal a badge.

'Morehouse School of Medicine' is what the badge has said. Below it was a picture of a young good looking girl with shoulder length brown hair, thin glasses framed over her hazel color eyes, and freckles around her cheeks and nose. If I'd had to place it, she'd be around her mid-twenties. Next to her picture was her name which was René Spence.

"This must have been the medical student that the others must been talking about." Jade signed before looking down in a bit of sadness. Silence fills the room for some time before Jade let out a deep sigh.

" _Come on, let's head back._ "

* * *

By the time we reached back to the warehouse, the moon was starting to dip down in the night sky. I wasn't totally ready to face Miles and the others with the news that we bear but I knocked with an unusual tone.

We waited for a little while before the door opened widely to Zach, rifle ready in hand.

"Oh good, its you guys." Zach said in relief before looking around. "Where are the others?" he then asked but I looked down in sadness before walking in without saying a word as Jade followed.

I could feel Zach and Kat's gazes on me as I slowly walked over to Miles who was sitting at the other end of the building, possibly pondering through his thoughts. Miles looked up to see us coming and gave a smile, making my heart ache even more.

"Your back! So, did you find the others?" he asked in a bit of happiness.

Without saying a word, I reached into my pocket and handed him the drawing which only confused him.

"We found the others but..." I began to say before almost choking on my own words as the images started to replay in my head. "...their all dead. All of them brutally murdered before their parts were used in sickening ways. I'm...sorry..."

Everything was silent for awhile before Miles slumped back down and silently cry to himself, allowing the news to seep in while the others looked down in sadness.

"Joyce," Zach's voice suddenly spoke up after awhile before approaching me. "What happened when you were there? The radio kicked to life as we heard your muffled voice yelling out something about a monster."

Oh crap! I have forgotten about the walkie talkie in my backpack. It must have turned on while I banged into the wall.

"Joyce, what happened?" Zach asked after not getting an answer before he turned his attention to Jade who shrugged his shoulders like saying 'I'm as clueless as you are bro'.

" _What happened while we were there? I've never seen you act that way before._ " Jade noted, making it sound like we've been together longer than a few hours.

They kept asking me the same question over and over, pestering me with it that was driving me to the edge before I exploded.

"SCHIZOPHRENIA, ALRIGHT?!" I screamed out in anger as Jade and Zach looked confusedly at each of my awkward answer.

"I have schizophrenia. I was diagnosed with it at the age of five. I was institutionalized soon after and it wasn't before the world went to shit when I managed to escape..." I trailed off.

" _Joyce...why didn't you say something?_ " Jade asked as I looked away, not wanting him to see my face after lying to him.

"Great, I guess we saved ourselves a circus of freaks." Kat muttered loud enough for everybody to hear.

I balled my hands into fist before stomping my way over to her. "What's your problem with us?!" I asked irritated as she looked angrily at me.

"Nothing, what's your problem with me?" she shot back.

"Don't you dare deny what your doing to us you shitface bastard!" I hissed.

"Piss off, you underprivileged, backwoods, inbred dipshit."

Before I wanted to punch Kat as hard as I could, a series of coughs stopped me. I turned my attention to Martha who was now coughing up blood. I ignored everybody and raced towards Martha.

But I was suddenly stopped by Kat as she kneed me in the stomach, air escaped my lungs as pain exploded all over my chest area.

"You really need to listen. If somebody says to stay away, you obey. It's simple or you're too dumb to understand?"

Pain slowly started turning into anger before I suddenly swung at Kat. I know I'm not tough but I was able to bring enough momentum in my punch to feel some of her bones in her nose to break.

Kat clutch her now bloodied broken nose before I saw fire erupt in her eyes as she used her nails to strike me, giving me a mark across my cheek as blood flowed out my newly scar.

All I wanted to do was beat the living hell outta her but never got the chance to do so because I was suddenly restrained from behind as Kat was the same.

"Cut it out you two, we cannot be going around and trying to kill each other." Zach tried to get across to us but me and Kat still tried to resist.

"Awww, breaking up the fight already? And it was just getting interesting..." A new voice that sounded somewhat Polish, stopping all of us in our tracks.

We all turned our heads in the direction of the voice to see ten people standing near Martha. These people were dressed weirdly with identical trench coats with worn out boots and word looking mask that looked like a hybrid between a gas mask and a masquerade mask.

Three of them were armed with pistols as the rest of them had swords, axes, crowbars or anything swingable.

"Sorry for intruding like this but we couldn't let another opportunity like this slip through our fingers. Oh how wonderful it was with playing with your friends down the street." the man said before a creepy smile spread across his face.

"Wait, your the fuckers that killed my little girl?!" Mile's voice erupted from behind us before he stormed in front of us in an instant, aluminium baseball in hand.

"A little girl?" the man asked mockingly before chuckling. "Oh, THAT little girl. We had some extra fun with her."

"YOU BASTARDS!" Miles roared out in anger before bringing the bat up and charging at the group of people.

But before Miles could get anywhere near them, the guy rose up his pistol and pulled the trigger. A shot rang out as Miles dropped to the ground, clutching his right shoulder in which was already seeping blood.

"Miles!" Zach cried out but didn't move because two pistols pointed right at him.

"Heh, you're a fool, Miles was it?" the man chuckled out before turning his attention to Martha who tried scooting herself away but she must have been too tired to move.

"A new America will rise from the ashes of the old one, better than its original. And we, the Asserts, will help it flourish! But unfortunately for you..." the guy began to say as he rose his pistol to Martha's head. "Your uselessness has over expired. There is no place for you in the new world."

Before any of us could stop them, the guy squeezed the trigger, letting two bullets fly into Martha's skull. Blood and brain tissue splattered out of the bullet wounds, instantly killing her as she slid off the support beam and onto the ground.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kat screamed out before pulling out her gun and begun rapidly firing at the group of people, instantly killing two of them and wounding one.

"Well, it looks like there won't be any room for any of you either." the main man said before pointing his gun our way.

Without thinking, I dashed behind the nearest support beam as everybody else scrambled for cover before gunfire began. Zach has ducked behind a tarp covered object while Kat and Jade also took cover behind unoccupied support beams just before bullets began whizzing by.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught glimpse of Miles who surprisingly crawled behind a pile of cinder blocks while trying to bandage his injured shoulder.

I quickly pulled out my pistol and clicked the safety off. My breath began to accelerate mostly because I was forced to take a life that wasn't taken already. Before I could chicken out, I stepped out from behind my cover and aimed it at the closest person.

The gun suddenly began to shake within my grip before silently prayed my prayer: to the soul I'm about to take, I hope that one day in the afterlife you'll forgive forgive me. I'm sorry...

I had a little trouble squeezing the trigger but it eventually went off but my aim was off as the bullet took a chunk out of the guy's neck instead of going between his eyes.

The guy gasped harshly before gripping his bullet wound to prevent any more blood to escape right before another shot rang out, striking the guy right in the heart, killing him instantly.

"Learn to shoot right dumbass." Kat's voice rose through the chaos before I took cover and stared intensely at her.

It seemed that Miles was done bandaging his shoulder because he had a cinder block in hand as his face was full in rage.

"This is for Melody!" he cried out before tossing the block as hard as he could, hitting one of the gunners square in the face and possibly killing him from the force of the impact.

 _Damn, and this is why I don't wanna piss of anybody like that_ , I thought before I'm suddenly interrupted by a man swinging his metal pipe.

I quickly duck just in time as the man's pipe slams into the support beam, making the support beam shake. I could see a pleasurable look in his eyes before raising his weapon to strike.

Just when I thought it was all over for me, the guy suddenly grunted before a blood-soaked sword exited his mouth. Before I could realize what's happening, the guy's upper half of his head fell right off as the rest of him fell sideways, revealing Jade with his swords covered in blood.

Suddenly, I heard a scream of pain as I turn to see Kat clutching her leg with blood seeping through her fingers. I turned my attention back to Jade before I nodded to him.

Like he understood, he raced over to Kat who looked displeased with him being by her. I tried to peek around the support beam but more bullets wizzed by again as I tried to keep still as possible.

A new gunfire went off, silencing the others also making me look around for who was the gunner before seeing Zach on the upper balcony, sniper rifle in hand.

"Don't move...and drop your weapon..." Zach hissed, aiming his sniper rifle at the last remaining gunman who must have been the leader or something because the remaining attackers froze.

The leader just stood there unmoving as he did as he was told. Here I thought we actually had them but, I began to hear snickering his fellow comrades, which made me uneasy of what's going on.

I watched in silence as the leader reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device that gave me a sinking feeling. The leader pressed a button on the device and threw it in Zach's general direction, only confusing me but Zach acted quickly and dropped his sniper rifle before jumping off the balcony.

The whole place lit up intensely as a shockwave burst out, nearly knocking me off my feet. Once the light has died down a little, most of the balcony was torn to shreds with fire ablaze to the whole area.

"Heh heh, homemade detonators." The leader crackled out before his men took action and one grabbed Zach, yanking him to his feet.

"Zach!" I cried out before forcing myself from my hiding spot and pointed my pistol at the guy that had Zach restrained.

 _Alright, I only have one bullet left, I gotta make this count_ , I told myself before I heard a scream from behind me. I whipped around to find Kat struggling against another guy's grip as Jade was laying on the ground with blood tickling down his forehead, barely conscious.

This ain't looking good!

One bullet.

Two lives at stake.

Who to save?

* * *

 **[Save Zach]**

 **[Save Kat]**


End file.
